Device for working on the soles of footwear



JQA: BATA 2,166,482-

DEVICE FOR WORKING ON THE SOLES OE FOOTWEAR July 18, 1939.

' 2 Sheets-sheaf 1 Filed March 31, 1936 18, 1939 J BATA 2,166,482

DEVI CE FOR WORKING ON THE SOLES OF FOOTWEAR Filed March 31, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Jan Antonin Bata, Zli n, Czechoslovakia Application March 31', 1936, Serial No. 71,956

' In. Czechoslovakia March 20, 1935 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for automatically feeding and guiding soles, inner soles and similar articles, where a treating operation is to take place. along the edge, as for instance, by cutting into said edge, spreading the channels produced, etc. This operation is to take place at a certain distance from the very edge of the articles.

In the known machines for these operations,

the article had to be guided by hand, since the feeding device was not automatic. A hand feed device leads to a non-uniform. treatment of the article itself. The output of the machine was relatively small.

The sole with a channel spread therein must then be supplied with a coating of dye or paint before it is sewed onto the upper. applied on the side of the sole which is turned away from the channel, so that the finished shoe should not display an uncolored sole or should show the welt secured thereto.

This entire operation is carried out in a perfect manner due to the provision of an automatic feeding and guiding device applied to those machines which perform the edge operations on soles, inner soles and similar articles and at the same time this feeding device appliesthe coat of paint or dye. The sole or inner sole is advanced by this feeding and guiding device to be operated over its entire circumference and the coating of paint is applied to that side which is turned away from the side of the operation.

The device of this invention may be applied to bodiment in association with a spreading machine" to which, however, the use of the invention is not to be limited.

Fig. 1 is a cross section, parts being in elevation, of a spreading machine, combined with ,a 'p aintapplying device, to which my present invention has been applied, the principal attachments comprising my invention being shown in elevation and the shoe sole being presented with the toe tip under the spreading tool.

Fig. 2 is a detail top plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, with: the spreading tool removed and the sole fed around to a position 90 from that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the painted sole.

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective section of the sole on an enlarged scale.

This paint is- (Cl. 12-1'l) The device illustrated is mounted on a'bracket l which is pivotally secured to the frame l5 of a known channel-spreading machine Fig. 1. The

'driving shaft 2 is mounted in the bearing bush- 3 in the base-plate I. This shaft serves to impart movement to the feeding device. Secured to one end of the shaft is the bevel pinion 4 which meshes with a second bevel pinion 5, fixed to the shaft 6 mounted in the bearing bushes l and 8' fitted in the bracket l.-

Mounted on the upper part of the shaft 6 is'a known feeding implement 9whichpresents on its convexly curved fa'ce numerous indentations 9 for the purpose of increasing the friction between the implement and the sole. The feeding tool is rotated during operation, while it is pressed against the lower surface of the sole ID (by action of spring M). It, therefore, has a tendency to impart a rotary movement to the article and in doing this, it presses the article in a direction towards another tool as, for-instance, the spreading tool l2.. This spreading tool is mounted in a known way on the shaft l3 of the spreading machine. The feeding tool 9 is urged in a'direction towards the article ID and towards the spreading tool l2 by means of a helical spring I 4 which is inserted between the bracket I and the frame of the machine.

The spreading machine also is provided with a bracket Hi. This bracket 16 supports the fixed guide 24 by means of a nut 23. The feeding tool 9 while acting on the article lllhas a. tendency to rotate the article inthe direction of the feeding tool. ,This rotation is prevented owing to the fixed guide 24 which is in the path of the rotary movement of the article. Since, however, the feeding tool 9 during its rotation continually acts upon the article Ill, there is produced a resulting advance movement in the direction to-" Wards; the spreading tool l2. The fixed guide 24 determines the distance at which the spreading tool acts on the article, that is, the distance between the contour of the article and the point of action. The fixed guide 24 is adjustable with respect to the rotary feeder 9. The bracket I6 of the spreading machine also supports, rotatably, the arm I! as shown in Fig. 2. This arm is under control of the spring 2| which is interposed'between the swinging arm I! and the pin 22. The arm l1, carries at its free end a guide rollerl8 and, adjacent thereto, the roller 20. The arm I! and roller l8 are mounted on a screw stud I9. During this positively enforced movement of the article ID, induced by the'rotation of the feeder 9 and by the presence of the adjusted The feeder tool 3 also is equipped with the spur gear 25, which engages the pinion 26, this last I named pinion being fixedly united with the paintapplying roller 21. The pinion 2B and paint roller 21 are suspended from the cover 29 by means of the universal joint 28. The roller 21 may oscillate about the universal joint 28 within certain limits and may adapt itself to the broader or narrower form of the sole. Upon opening the cover 29, paint roller 21 also will be removed so that the structure can readily be cleaned. The paint roller 21 is mounted onball bearings 3|; at the circumference of this roller 21 there is positioned resilient and porous material 32 by means of which the color is transmitted from roller 33 to feeder 9 and by means of which the roller 33 is rotated. This roller is provided with a bearing bushing 35 on a stationary shaft 36 3. The feeding tool then transmits this paint to" the article ID at the margin a, Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The painting or dyeing operation can be com bined with the feeding and spreading operation, but it is not absolutely necessary. The device may be employed even without this particular dyeing device. I

Therod 39 extends to a treadle whereby the feeding tool 9 may be pulled away from the spreading tool I2 when it is desired to insert a new article.

The present device, therefore, renders the accuracy at which the work is being treated entirely independent of the shape of the article. This invention, therefore, constitutes an advance in the art of feeding and guiding of soles and other like articles which have an irregular contour. It is also an advantage to combine the feeding device with the paint-applying device. In this manner a manual operation may be entirely dispensed with and the product obtained will be superior in appearance. Much time is saved in this manner. 1

A rest 24 may be provided on which the rand may lie while the sole is being fed.

I claim: r

1. The combination with a spreading device for spreading the channel formed in a shoe sole, of a feeding device located-adjacent said spreading device, and a plurality of guiding elements, one at each side of said feeding device and engageable with the periphery of the sole to cooperate with said feeding device and automatically guide the sole past the feeding device, one of said guiding devices comprising an adjustably mounted rigid member and the other guiding device including a yieldingly pressed roller tending to turn the sole on the feeding device as a pivot and thereby maintaining the edge of the sole in contact with said rigid guiding device.

2. The combination with a rotating spreading tool adapted to overlie the sole adjacent its edge to spread the channel in a sole, a main guide roller beneath said tool to engage the edge of the sole, a rotatable feeding implement located ata place below said tool and adjacent thereto and shaped to engage the rand of a sole, and means continuously tending to press said feeding implement toward said tool and said guide roller to grip the margin of the sole between the same, a fixed guide to engage the edge of the sole to one side of said main guide roller, anda springpressed guide roller to engage the sole edge to the other side of said main guide roller for purposes described.

3. The combination with a. rotating spreading too'l adapted to overlie the sole adjacent its edge to spread the channel in a sole, a main guide roller beneath said tool to engage the edge of the sole, a rotatable feeding implement located at a place below said tool and adjacent thereto and shaped to engage the rand of a sole, means continuously tending to press said feeding implement toward said tool and said guide roller to grip the margin of the sole between the same, a fixed guide to engage the edge of the sole to one side of said main guide roller, a spring-pressed guide roller to engage the sole edge to the other side of said main guide roller for purposes described, and means to apply a coloring fluid to that part of said feeding implement which contacts the rand.

4. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable feeder including a driven shaft having a head whose upper end is spherical, means to hold a face of the article to be fed in frictional contact with said spherical end, a fixed guide adjacent said feeder for engaging the edge of said article, a fixedly located guide roller also engaging said edge, and a spring-pressed yieldingly mounted guide roller also engaging said edge, the direction of rotation of said spherical feeder head being such as to tend to turn the article being fed in a direction to maintain its edge in constant contact with said fixed guide.

5. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable feeder including a driven shaft having a head whose upper end is spherical, means to hold a face of the article to be fed in frictional contact with said spherical end,'a fixed guide adjacent said feeder for engaging the edge of said article, a fixedly located guide roller also engaging said edge, a spring-pressed yieldingly mounted guide roller also engaging said edge, the direction of rotation of said spherical feeder head being such as to tend to turn the article being fed in a direction to maintain its edge in constant contact with said fixed guide, and means to mount said fixed guide for adjustment toward and from the feeder head whereby the distance of the place where the guided article is to be treated may be determined. 7

6. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable feeder including a driven shal t having a head whose upper end is spherical, means to hold a face of the article to be fed in frictional contact with said spherical end, a fixed guide adjacent said feeder for engaging the edge of said article, a fixedly located guide roller also engaging said edge, and a spring-pressed yicldingly mounted guide roller also engaging said edge, the direction of rotation of said spherical feeder head being such as to tend to turn the article being fed in a direction to maintain its edge in constant contact with said fixed guide, said head being designed to engage the inner slope of the rand of a shoe sole to be fed, and means to apply paint to that portion of said head which engages the cause it to be fed, a relatively fixedly located inner slope of the rand.

adjacent its edge to spread the channel in the sole, a rotating feeding device having a spherical head located beneath said spreading tool and having an area to engage the rand of the sole, means continuously tending to press said feeding device toward said spreading tool, by virtue of which said head will frlctionally engage the sole and main guide roller engaging the edge of the sole, an adjustable stationary guide finger engaging the 'edge of the sole to one side of said main guide roller, and an arm co-axlall'y pivoted with respect to said main guide roller and} carrying a supplemental guide roller at the other side of said main guide roller, and spring means urging said pivoted guide roller into yielding engagement with the edge of the sole.

w v JAN ANT. BATA. 

